Corn harvester



` N 3,- 1950 H. L. ROSNTHAL 2524503 CORN HARVESTER Filed May 20, 1944 SSheets-Sheet 1 cfr. 3, H95@ H. n.. RosENl-HAL 2,524,603

CORN HARVESTER Filed May 20, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 @Mom/YJ Hem-Ll LRusenH-lal d. 3, i950 H. L. ROSENTHAL 2,524,603

CORN HARVESTER Filed May 20, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 w i @www /05 HenrqLRnSenhaI- @Mmm 0%/ Patented Oct. 3 195.0

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE 2,524,603 `CORN HARVESTER Henry L. Rosenthal, West Allis, Wis. Application May 2o, 1944, serial No. 536,501

i t (cl. V56-61) 8 Claims.

The present invention pertains to corn harvesters for operating in the eld to cut, snap, and husk the corn, and chop or shred the stalks and liusks for feed, such as disclosed in the patents to Trottman #1,722,717 and Swenson #2,333,901, and applicants co-pending application Serial No. 530,805, now Patent 2,501,097.

In the present application, the gathering, cutting, snapping and husking mechanism shown is conventional, and therefore the invention relates more particularly to the novel manner in which the component parts of the harvested crops are handled and delivered to trailers or other conveyances for transportation from the field.

I-Ieretofore, it'has been common practice to use reciprocative shakers for separating the shelled cornfrom the chopped or shredded feed, and deliver the feed and-kernels to one or `more blowers for discharge into trailed wagon boxes, and while such devices serve their ultimate purpose, from the standpoint of weight, multiplicity of parts and speed of operation they Vare objectionable. j

Itis therefore the primary object of the present invention to overcome thel foregoing objections by,`

the provision of van exceedinglylight, simplified,

and relatively low-#cost corn harvester, capable of maximum speed of operation and capacity.

Incidental to the foregoing, a more specicobject resides in the elimination of shakers and blowers by the provision of a'conveyor traveling over a perforated table or screen for receiving material from the chopper, and separating and delivering shelled corn and feed to suitable receivers.

Another object of the invention resides in the relative arrangement and direction of discharge of the delivery conveyors, whereby a more even distribution of weight is obtained, and a more convenient arrangement of receiving conveyances is permissible.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the novel lconstruction, combination, and arrangementV vof parts, sub- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a corn harvester incorporating features and principles of the present invention, parts being broken away to show internal mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken on the lines 3 3 of Figs.` 2 'and 1; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail of the shelled corn conveyor taken approximately along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, parts being broken away and in section.

With particular reference to the drawings, in which one practical form of the invention is illustrated, the machine consists essentially in a main frame designated by the numeral I and supported upon wheels 2 carried by stub aXles 3, which are secured to the sides of the main frame. Rigidly mounted upon the main frame adjacent one side is a gathering, snapping, husking and shredding mechanism 4, while a drawbar 5 is pivotally connected to the front of the frame adjacent its opposite side for attachment Vto a tractor or draft implement (not shown).

Pivotally connected to therear end of the main frame I is a trailerV frame 6, supported at its rear ends upon a castor wheel assembly l.

The foregoing combination is fully shown and described in my co-pending application Serial No. 530,805.

The main harvester frame I consists of a fabricated structure including spaced transverse stantially as hereinafter described, andmore par- In the drawings:

angle irons 8 connected by cross-members 9 to which suitable uprights I!) are attached to carry the stub axles 3 of the supporting wheels.

The gathering, snapping, husking and shred- 'ding unit 4 consists of spaced longitudinal chan- `nels II, inclined downwardly and forwardly befyond the front end of the main frame I.

Mounted between thechannels I I is a pair of combination rolls I2, comprising lower feed sections I 3, intermediate snapping sections I4 and upper husking sections I5.

Disposed below the snapping portion I4 and the channels Il, in longitudinal relation to the rolls I2 is a rotary shredder head I 6, which chops the stalks received from the snapping portion of the rolls I2 and delivers the same transversely as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

Mounted on the frame I in transverse relation vto the shredder head IE, is a housing Il provided `with an inclined bottom I8 extending beyond one sideof the main frame to form a trough I9.

Spaced above the bottom I8 of the housing and havingits side edges suitably connected to the sides of the housing is a table 20 over which an endless chain conveyor 2| travels in a direction to convey material from the shredder I5 and deliver the same from the upper end of the trough I9 to a suitable receptacle either driven or drawn alongside of the machine. The conveyor travels around sets of sprockets 2| and 22 mounted on shafts 23 and 24 respectively. The latter are suitably journalled transversely of the housing. The conveyor includes transverse material moving flights which ride over the table 2|] to push material therealong (see Figs. 1 and 2).

As best shown in Fig. 2, the intermediate portion 2D' of the inclined table 20 is perforated to allow shelled corn delivered with chopped feed to the conveyor 2| to be separated from the feed and dropped upon the inclined bottom I8 of the trough I9. Adjacent its lower end, the bottom I8 is provided with a receiving trough 22 into which the shelled corn passing through the perforated portion 25' of the table 20 is delivered and discharged rearwardly by a screw conveyor 23. The conveyor 23 extends transversely in the trough 22 and is rotated in a direction to convey shelledcorn rearwardly along the bottom of said trough.

From the conveyor 23 the shelled corn is delivered into a vertical housing 24 provided with a conveyor 25, which carries` the kernels upwardly and discharges the same through a spout 26 into an inclined trough 21 mounted on the trailer frame 6 and extending rearwardly to deliver material to a drawn wagon box or trailer. The conveyor 25 is of an endless chain type and travels around sprocket wheels 26 and 21. The sprocket 25' isfmounted on the same shaft as the screw conveyor 23 to drive the latter (see Fig. 3), and the sprocket 21 is driven by a shaft 44. The endless conveyor 25 is provided with material moving flights 28 (see Fig. 4). Within the trough 21 is an endless chain type conveyor 28 having transverse flights 29 for moving material along the bottomof the trough 21. The

conveyor travels around lupper sprockets 29 and,-l

delivering the same to the trough 21, which also receives the shelled kernels.

In operation, as the machine is drawn over a row of corn by a tractor, the stalks are guided to the rolls I2 by gathering frames 32. After the stalks are gripped by the feed portions I3 of the rolls and the gathering chains 33, they are carried rearwardly and upwardly to the snapping portions I4 of the rolls from which the stalks are fed downwardly'to the shredder I6, while the snapped ears are carried upwardly by the chains 34 over the husking portions I5 of the rolls. The husks thus removed are also delivered to the shredder I3 as shown in my co-pending application, while the husked ears are delivered to the chute 3| which discharges them into thel delivery troughv from the cut feed in the manner described, the

shelled kernels being delivered from `the lower end of the trough I9 by the screw conveyor23v to the conveyor housing 24, from which they are 'siderable detail in my co-pending application discharged into the delivery trough 21 together with the husked ears, while the chopped feed is discharged at the upper end of the trough I9 laterally of the machine.

To drive the operative parts of the machine, power may be taken off the tractor through a shaft 35 universally connected with a drive shaft 36 carried by the uprights I0 at one side of the main frame I. A sprocket 31 mounted on the shaft 36 drives a sprocket 38 mounted on a shaft 39 journalled on the top of the housing I1, and also a sprocket 40 secured on a shaft 4| through a chain 42.

The shaft 39 serves to drive the shelled corn elevating conveyor 25, which in turn operates the screw conveyor 23, while the shaft 4I drives the rolls I2, the gathering and conveyor chains 33 and'34 respectively, and the cutting mechanism (not shown) that severs the standing stalks. This mechanism is shown and described in con- Seria] No; 530,805, therefore repetition is considered unnecessary here.

Drive for the delivery conveyor 21 is taken off of the shaft 39 through a universal spline coupling 43 and a shaft 44 operating through beveled gears 45 to drive the upper conveyor sprocket 29.

The conveyor 2| is also driven from the shaft 39 through a set of pinions 46, which reverses the direction of drive, and a chain and sprocket drive 41 connected with the upper end of the conveyor 2|.

The cutter head I'G is driven by a chain 39 from a sprocket 48 secured on the drive shaft 36.

From the foregoing explanation considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that a corn harvester has been devised in which a materially simplified, compact and light mechanism has been provided for handling and delivering component parts of the harvested crop to receiving receptacles, either' drawn or propelled adjacent the machine.

It will also be appreciated that in addition to simplifying and reducing the weight of the separating and conveying mechanisms, the arrangement of the conveyors affords a highly desirable distribution of weight on the machine to counterbalance the weight of the gathering, snapping and husking mechanism, thus overcoming one of the great objections to machines of the present type, in which diiiiculty is encountered because of the offset required between the harvesting mechanism and tractor pull.

I claim:

1. In a corn harvester having a wheeled frame, a drawbar extending forwardly of said frame from a point at one side thereof, gathering mechanism on the opposite side of said frame extending longitudinally thereof, a conveyor for husked ears extending rearwardly from said frame :from a point in the width intermediate the gathering mechanism and drawbar, snapping and husking mechanism adjacent said gathering-mechanism, a shredder beneath said snapping and husking mechanism, means for delivering husked ears laterally from said snapping and husking mechanism to said conveyor, and a second conveyor of the endless type projecting laterally from the side of the frame opposite tothe side on which said gathering mechanism is located, the inner end of saidv second conveyor being located adjacent said shredder.

2. In a corn harvester having a wheeled frame, a drawbar extending forwardly of said frame from a point at one side thereof, gathering mechconveyor of the endless type projecting laterally from the side of the frame opposite to the side on which said gathering mechanism is located,

the inner end of said second conveyor being located adjacent said shredder.

3. In a corn harvester having a wheeled frame,

a drawbar extending forwardly of said frame from a point at one side thereof, gathering mechanism on the opposite side of said frame extending longitudinally thereof, a conveyor for husked ears extending rearwardly from said frame from a point in the width intermediate the gathering d mechanism and drawbar, snapping and husking mechanism adjacent said gathering mechanism, a shredder beneath said snapping and husking mechanism, means for delivering husked ears laterally from said snapping and husking mechanism to said conveyor, and a second conveyor projecting laterally from the side of the frame opposite to the side on which said gathering mechanism is located, the inner end of said second conveyor being located to receive feed from said shredder, said second conveyor being of an endless type, a table over which said conveyor operates, said table having a perforated portion to allow shelled corn to pass therethrough, and a trough below said conveyor located to receive said shelled corn.

4. In a corn harvester having a wheeled frame, a drawbar extending forwardly of said frame from a point at one side thereof, gathering mechanism on the opposite side of said frame extending longitudinally thereof, a conveyor for hushed ears extending rearwardly from said frame from a point in the width intermediate the gathering mechanism and drawbar, snapping and husking mechanism adjacent said gathering mechanism, a shredder beneath said snapping and husking mechanism, means for delivering husked ears laterally from said snapping and husking mechanism to said conveyor, and a second conveyor projecting laterally from the side of Vthe frame opposite to the side on which said gathering mechanism is located, the inner end of said second conveyor being located to receive feed from said shredder, said second conveyor being of an endless type, a table over Which said conveyor operates, said table having a perforated portion to allow shelled corn to pass therethrough, a trough below said conveyor located to receive said shelled corn, and a spiral conveyor extending longitudinally of the frame for conveying shelled corn from said trough.

5. In a corn harvester having mechanism for gathering, snapping, and huskingcorn, and having a shredder, a conveyor housing having its inner end positioned to receive feed from the shredder, the bottom of said housing having a trough, a table in said housing spaced above the bottom thereof, and an endless conveyor-movable over said table, said table having perforations through which shelled corn may fall, and said trough being located in a position to intercept said shelled corn.

6. In a corn harvester having mechanism for gathering, snapping and husking corn, and having a shredder, a conveyor housing having its `inner endV positioned to receive feed from the shredder, atable in said housing spaced above the bottom thereof, an endless conveyor movable over said table, said table having perforations through which shelled corn may fall, and means at thebottom of said housing below said table for intercepting said shelled corn.

'7. In a corn harvester having mechanism for gathering, snapping, and husking corn, and having a shredder, va conveyor housing having its inner end positioned to receive feed from the shredder, the bottom of said housing having a trough, a table in said housing spaced above the bottom thereof, and an endless 'conveyor movable over said table, said table having a solid portion adjacent the receiving end of the conveyor housing and having an intermediate por tion formed with perforations through which shelled corn may fall, said trough being located to intercept said shelled corn.

3. In a corn harvester having mechanism for gathering, snapping, and husking corn, a shredder, an upwardly inclined conveyor housing having its lower end positioned to receive feed from the shredder, a table in said housing spaced above the bottom thereof, and extending longitudinally of the housing at substantially the same incline, an endless conveyor movable over said table, the lower portion of said table being solid and said table having perforations above said solid portion through which shelled corn may fall, and a transverse trough at the bottom of said conveyor housing, the major portion of the perforated area of the table being located upwardly of the conveyor housing with respect to said trough.

HENRY L. ROSENTHAL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 879,404 McInture et al. Feb. 18, 1908 1,034,152 Skinner July 30, 1912 1,528,635 Ronning et al Mar. 3, 1925 1,644,537 Meacham Oct. 4, 1927 2,333,901 Swenson Nov. 9, 1943 

